experience
The first words that come to mind when looking up at the Virunga Mountains – a chain of eight volcanoes that form part of the border between northern Rwanda, southwestern Uganda, and eastern DRC – are largely to do with their scale and presence. Cinematic, imposing, ancient. Three of these volcanoes are visible from Kwitonda and Kataza House : Sabyinyo, Gahinga, and Muhabura. An immeasurably biodiverse ecosystem, made up of different zones, Volcanoes National Park shares this mountain range with Virunga National Park – the oldest national park in Africa. Roughly half the world’s mountain gorilla
population lives here. These gentle giants form the centre point around which ecotourism has blossomed and have inspired a conservation renaissance. But when you start to look a little closer, and deeper into its borders, you will see that it’s not merely gorillas, or the bamboo thickets they inhabit, that define Volcanoes National Park. Within its boundaries – and just outside – are cultivated areas, which gradually turn into Neoboutonia forest, and then, at 2500 to 3200 metres above sea level, transform into a lush bamboo forest zone. After this comes the Hagenia-Hypericum forest and, finally, Afroalpine
Previous spread Majestic from afar, delicate up close, the species of Volcanoes National Park form a complex interconnected web. Left Community land meets park borders, and then forest to form a patchwork of habitats.
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